Things had been electric in her life since the day in March that Kate called her, crying but happy, and told her that Richard Castle had proposed. After the lovebirds spent a weekend alone, she dove right into planning the big event with her daughter.
Katie had never been the girl to bury her nose in wedding magazines or fantasize over what she wanted for her own special day, but when they sat down in the living room of the loft with Martha and Alexis, having sent the groom-to-be out to one of his writer's poker games, she seemed to know exactly what the day should look like.
The four women had gathered in the living room of the Castle loft – Alexis and Kate claiming their spots on the floor while Johanna and Martha settled into the couch. They started with a notebook and Alexis's laptop, just 'brainstorming' Kate called it.
As they talked their way through a list of settings, it became very clear that Kate wasn't keen on a huge affair with hundreds of guests and press. "Rick and I talked about it, and he thinks it's a good idea. It's our day," she motioned to all of them, "our day, and we talked about it with Paula. We're going to have one photographer – she's going to come up with a contract for privacy – and we're going to pick three photos to release to the media. Any profit made from those has to go to the NYPD Widows and Children's Fund."
"Darling, that's a lovely idea." Martha flourished, "And very honorable."
They talked venues but couldn't find anything that they all felt was them, until Alexis suggested the Hamptons house.
"We're looking for private, right? What's more private than our own house. There are certainly enough rooms for all five of us," their immediate family, "and enough for even some of the bridal party. And there's a hotel nearby."
"Yeah," Kate nodded, "that sounds…" she paused to smile, picture it in her own head, "It's perfect."
They drew up the guest list, somewhere right around one hundred guests after adding the necessary co-workers and friends to the short list of extended family they had between the two of them, and made a draft of meal ideas to discuss with Castle's go-to caterer. The man had a 'guy' for everything.
"I think it's right," Kate skimmed her eyes over the lists they had created.
"Right is one thing, Katie," Johanna had posed to her, "but is it what you want?"
Kate stopped, pictured herself and Castle in her head, dressed and standing in front of everyone who mattered to them, hands joined. Out over the water the sun was just near to setting, and everything looked…exactly how she wanted it. "Yeah," she smiled at her mother, and soon to be mother-in-law and stepdaughter, "It is."
Johanna been there every instant Kate needed her. Sat in her pajamas at one in the morning when Kate would call, nervous that she chose the right meal or picked the right kind of flowers to have the Hamptons in early August. And inevitably, each time she just had to let Kate talk herself into realizing that she was being "that bride," and things were fine.
Every moment was special, and she loved sharing the experience of preparing for a wedding with her daughter. But things came to a head at the end of May, when the reality of getting married hit Kate.
Kate decided that she didn't want anyone else with her when she went looking for wedding dresses but her mother. They set aside a Saturday and came up with a game plan of shops to go to and a few styles that were definitely on the 'to try' list. They went into store after store and Kate tried on a few dresses in each one but didn't find anything she was in love with.
They settled on a bench with two iced coffees on a break. The pressure was starting to get to the younger Beckett. "Katie, we'll find the dress. I promise. We'll go through a few more stores, and if you don't find anything you like, we'll stop, and do it again another day." She waited for Kate to nod, "There's no sense in running yourself into the ground and getting frustrated over this."
Johanna had known something was wrong when Kate didn't put up a fight – at all. Not even a little nudge back.
Four dresses later, Kate came out of the dressing room in a strapless gown. Barely a shade off-white, the light chiffon layers drifted elegantly behind her, small rhinestones and beading decorated the upper edge of the bust and an appliqué on the waist where the bodice of the gown met the skirt.
"Katie," Johanna beamed.
"Yeah," she was in just as much awe.
Johanna stood and helped her daughter up in front of the semi-circle of mirrors then carefully arranged the skirt around her. "What do you think?"
"I think," Kate's voice shook, "This may be it."
She had to wipe away the one tear that managed to escape. "You look like a bride."
"Uh huh," the syllables were slow to fall from her daughter's lips, and the look in Kate's eyes was far too distant to be there while shopping for a wedding dress.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," she argued, trying to smile even though she was beginning to cry, "I can picture Dad walking me down the aisle…in this dress."
Barely a second passed before she was closing the space between them, putting herself up on the step beside her daughter, grabbing her hands. "Oh, Katie," she sighed, didn't care that she too, was now crying, "He would have loved to see you in this dress. And he would have adored Rick and been thrilled to see you get married."
"We talked about it a lot, Rick and I. After we fought in February I kind of introduced them and told him all of these stories from when I was a kid."
Johanna looked at her, questioning.
"We sat in front of Dad's headstone and talked things through, and we talked to him. It was surreal." She shook her head, stuck in the memory. "I've never done that with anyone before." Kate turned, dropping one hand from her mother's and looked at the two of them in the mirror. "Since Dad can't – will you walk me down the aisle?"
Johanna's arm came around Kate's waist, hugging tightly. "Of course I will. You don't even need to ask."
Before she knew it, she was standing in the master suite, upstairs in the Castles' house in the Hamptons, watching as her daughter stepped into that dress they picked out just two months before.
"Want me to zip you up?" She asked from her place at the vanity.
"Sure."
They were in the middle of triple checking each other's makeup when there was a knock at the door and two faces popped through.
"Girl," Lanie squealed, "you look amazing!"
"Thanks," she ducked her head, blushing, "it was all her," she thumbed in her mother's direction.
"Dad just went outside," Alexis grinned at her. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," she smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, "I am."
ooooo
The ceremony was beautiful. She had walked her little girl down the aisle and stood by as she and Richard Castle shared their vows, tears unabashedly slipping down her cheeks at the moment they said 'I do.'
The party planner had pulled everything off for the reception wonderfully – found a company to set up a beach-side dance floor and seating area, and the food was perfect. She was seated at one of them, watching Kate and Rick dancing and laughing at each other, when Martha came up and took the seat beside her.
The two women leaned in to chat and be heard over the music, their bare feet tucked carefully underneath their chairs. The crowd had thinned, some of their guests having left shortly after dinner had been served, but most people were wandering around on the beach or dancing, enjoying the beautiful night. Somehow, the couple's mothers didn't get the chance to find each other before the wedding had begun hours earlier.
"Everything was gorgeous, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was." She thought for a moment, once again coming to the topic that had been on her mind all day since having breakfast with the family before they parted ways to get ready for the wedding. "Way back when I ran into you in that cupcake shop – did you think anything would ever really come of setting the two of them up?"
"I don't know," Martha contemplated, "But when you think about it…we didn't really set them up, did we?"
Johanna pursed her lips, hummed, thinking about the murder that really brought their children together, "I guess not. Though I like to think they had our good intentions in mind at some point."
"I would hope so," they shared a laugh, and turned back to the dance floor, this time to find Rick swinging Kate around in some ridiculous attempt to keep in-time with the swing tune the DJ had blaring over the speakers. "They're happy."
She nodded at Martha's observation in total agreement, "I have to say, however Lifetime-movie-esque it may seem-"
"Johanna, I've been in my fair share of schmaltzy plays, nothing you can say can compare."
"Nonetheless," she laughed, "You should know, Rick is everything I could want for Katie."
"And Katherine is exactly who I always hoped Richard would find. They're perfect for each other."
"They really are," their eyes were still on their children. There was a heavy feeling in Johanna's heart she watched her daughter dance with her new husband, wishing that her own could be there to see it, too. But she knew he was with them…somehow, she just knew. The two Beckett women had been through hell, but the sight before her proved her husband's old saying. She could almost hear him whispering 'We Becketts can do anything.' in her ear.
She smiled – beamed, really – proud of how far they had come. She thought of everything she had yet to witness in her daughter's life, the milestones still too far out to touch, and realized, knowing how short life could be, she was more thankful than she thought.
"I'm glad it didn't take them years to see it."
Finally we have reached the end! I cannot believe it! It's been far too long since I originally started it that I was able to finish - but I am so thankful for those of you who stuck with me through the most epic of writer's blocks. For the readers I can always count on to leave a review, thank you so much, and everyone who was still reading and favoriting and alerting - I appreciate it.
This story started when I had a random thought of 'what would happen if it was her dad instead?' and I just ran with it. Unfortunately I greatly neglected the poor thing for months and months, but I finally sat down and set myself to finish it this summer. I'm actually pretty proud of how it all turned out, and I hope you all enjoyed it.
I don't see myself committing to longer stories, will probably stick to one and two-shots. If people really want it and send me prompts, I'll probably dabble in this universe.
Thanks for joining me with this story!
Tappin
:D
