Note: Thank you all so much for your continued reviews! Each one is daily encouragement and I am so grateful! The wedding is almost here! This chapter is longer than usual – I didn't want to split it up and there was so much to say, I hope you like it! Castle today, finally!
I think you guys know this by now…I don't own Castle.
Chapter 28.
"Girl, are you sure you don't want to stay at my place tonight? Or if you don't want to stay here, we could always stay in a hotel…You know it's supposed to be bad luck to see Castle before the ceremony," Lanie said, for what had to have been the third time in their very short conversation.
"Lanie. I really appreciate the offer. I do. But, Rick and I, we've never really been conventional. You know that. We've talked about it and we don't want to spend the night apart. Neither one of us will sleep well, and we don't want to go into the happiest day of our lives on no sleep," Kate looked over at Rick who was lying on the couch and he nodded his agreement even though Lanie couldn't see him.
"If you're sure…" Lanie didn't sound convinced.
"We're sure, Lanie. I promise."
"Okay, well I guess I'll see you soon at the library?"
The wedding party was meeting at the library so they could go over their positions and duties for the day of the wedding before they went over to the Old Haunt for their rehearsal dinner. Kate had been skeptical about having their rehearsal dinner in the same place as their reception, but Rick had assured her it would be no trouble to change the décor as most of the preparations would be taking place the morning of the wedding.
"Yes, we will see you soon!" Kate told her excitedly as she hung up the phone and turned to face her fiancé.
Rick grinned, grabbed her around the middle and pulled her down onto the couch next to him. "Look!" he told her as he pulled something from behind his back. It was the countdown clock. Wedding Countdown: 1 Day Until You Are Mrs. Rick Castle! His eyes shone with happiness.
"How long have you been waiting to show me that?" she laughed.
"Since you came in here," Rick answered and batted his eyelashes. "Adorable, right?"
Kate rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Absolutely adorable," she said sweetly as she kissed him. "So did the guys try to get you to ditch me tonight too, or was that just Lanie?"
Rick shrugged. "They tried, but I made it clear it wasn't going to happen. Let's be honest. It's a silly superstition."
Kate couldn't help it, she laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day when Richard Castle called superstition 'silly'."
Rick flushed slightly. "I just think we've been through enough and beat all the odds. Now that we've been together, I just don't want to spend another night alone."
She leaned over and snuggled into his side. "Hey I'm right there with you."
They sat, wrapped up together until Martha and Alexis came down the stairs.
"Darlings, shouldn't you be getting ready?" Martha asked as she looked at her watch. "We need to leave shortly."
Rick glanced down at Kate who nodded. "We'll be ready, Mother. Don't worry."
Alexis busied herself in the kitchen and made some tea, while Martha walked over to join the couple on the couch with a small gift.
"Things are going to be a bit crazy today and tomorrow, I'm sure, so I wanted to give this to you now."
Kate sat up and reached over to hug her soon to be mother in law. "Thank you Martha, you didn't need to get us anything."
"Why don't you open it before you thank me?" Martha laughed.
Rick cocked an eyebrow in his mother's direction and pulled away the wrappings. It was a rather thick book entitled, Martha-isms: Getting You Through Day by Day. Rick and Kate looked at one another before they plastered smiles onto their faces and got up to hug the eccentric woman.
Alexis let out a laugh from the kitchen and made her way into the living room to see the book for herself. Martha joined in her laughter and it took a moment for the two women to calm themselves down.
"You should have seen your faces!" Martha laughed as Rick and Kate exchanged a look of confusion.
"I told you they'd believe it was real," Alexis told her grandmother as she erupted into another fit of giggles.
"It's not real?" Rick asked as he flipped through the book. He didn't understand. As he turned the pages there was Martha-ism after Martha-ism, ones he had heard his whole life as well as pages of new material. From the look on Kate's face, she was just as confused as he was.
"Oh Darlling, it's real. But it's not your gift. Alexis and I came up with the idea as a gag gift of sorts. I know how you felt about my life coaching, so we thought we would make this book so you never forget the life lessons you learned from your mother."
"You mean like how to make the perfect Bloody Mary after your mother was out late?" Rick teased.
"Richard. That happened twice, tops," Martha told him as she swatted him in the chest.
It was Rick's turn to roll his eyes. He had gotten that little skill from Kate.
"Anyway, Grams and I got you a gift together." Alexis told them as she walked back and pulled a box out from behind the staircase.
Rick passed it to Kate so she could open it. When she pulled the paper away she was met with a large picture frame. There were two pictures inside. The first was a picture from shortly after Rick had started following her around for his research. It was clear they didn't know a picture was being taken, but there was a look between the two of them. The only way to describe it would be love. The second picture was much more recent. Rick and Kate had been strolling through Central Park when they found someone to take their picture. Rick had his arms wrapped around Kate and she had her head tipped back looking into his eyes. The frame had an inscription in the bottom that read, Denial or not, all the songs have made sense since the beginning.
Kate felt a tear slide down her cheek. She looked over at Rick and saw that his eyes were swimming as well. "I've never seen this picture," she whispered.
"Me either." Rick turned his gaze on his mother and daughter who were standing together as they watched. "Thank you. This is truly wonderful. Where did you get this photo?"
Martha grinned, pleased with their reaction. "Detectives Ryan and Esposito had it. I metioned looking for an early picture of you two and they knew the perfect one. I think it captures your love perfectly – even though you both tried to hide it for so long."
Kate blushed. "We were crazy, what can we say? But really, thank you, Martha, Alexis; this is the most beautiful gift. I can't wait to hang it in our new home." She got up and hugged both women in turn. Rick followed suit.
"Thank you both again," Rick said as he held the photo out again to admire it. "It's perfect." He pulled Alexis to him and kissed her forehead. "Alright, everyone should probably go get dressed. If you're ready before us, go ahead and leave, if not we can all head over to the library together."
Everyone agreed before heading off to their respective rooms. Rick followed Kate into their bedroom and set the picture frame on their bed.
"Everyone knew it. I'm just glad we've finally gotten here," he told her.
"Me too," Kate added. "Me too."
The couple got ready quickly as the moved around each other with ease. Kate had settled on a tea length white, chiffon dress that belled out when she turned. It was beautiful and made her feel like a bride. Rick had decided to wear black dress pants with a deep blue shirt at his fiancé's request. She loved the way the blue brought out his eyes, and he was happy to please her. By the time they made it out into the living room, however, Martha and Alexis had gone. Kate was secretly pleased that this meant they could take the Ferrari. She always got a rush when Rick drove them around, even though she would never admit it to him – it was too much fun to let him think she couldn't stand his driving!
Rick and Kate were the last to arrive at the library. The crew was still working on setting up the decorations, so they weren't able to get the full picture. Rick reassured his bride to be that it would look perfect the next day. She could see enough to know he was right. They walked through the music and where everyone would enter the room and stand. They went through walking down the aisle and the appropriate speed with which to do so. Esposito and Lanie had practically jogged down the aisle, which caused everyone to tease that it was their haste to get married themselves. The couple had reddened at the thought, but they hadn't denied the accusations.
Kate and her father walked down the aisle, and Kate whispered to her father, "Did you bring the gift for Rick?"
He shook his head and she looked slightly alarmed. Jim smiled. "Don't worry, Katie Bug. I have someone delivering it to the loft so it will be there when you get home. I didn't want you to have to worry about carrying it or having to explain yourself before you were ready."
Kate beamed at him. "You're the best Dad, you know that?"
Jim leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
"Love you too, Dad."
When everyone knew their timing and where they were supposed to stand, the man who was going to marry them walked in. Rick's eyes grew wide as he looked at the man standing before them and he opened his mouth to speak, but a slight shake of the man's head had him closing it again. Kate looked at Rick and raised her eyebrows in question, but Rick gave her a look that clearly said I'll tell you later.
"Do you want to rehearse your vows?" the man asked them.
They shook their heads. "We want to save that for tomorrow," Rick told him.
The man dismissed them with the promise he would see them tomorrow. As they all moved towards the library entrance the man asked if he could speak to Rick and Kate in private. Rick told their friends and family that they would meet them at the Old Haunt shortly, and they followed the man down the corridor into a small room.
"What are you doing here? How are you here?" Rick began, as Kate looked back and forth between the two men for a moment before understanding washed over her.
"I wanted to see you, Richard. I wanted to have a part in your special day. I was ordained with the hope that you would let me perform the ceremony. I wanted to meet the woman you are going to marry. If you don't want me to be here, I'll leave. I wanted to give you the option. I wanted you to know I want to be here to see this special day."
Kate looked over at Rick, unsure of the thoughts going through his head. Normally she was so good at reading this man, but now, his face was blank, his eyes gave nothing away.
Rick was quiet. When he finally spoke, he turned to Kate. "Kate, this is Jackson Hunt. He's my father."
Kate turned to the man and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you." He had the same sparkle in his eyes as his son. Now that she was really seeing them side by side, the resemblance was remarkable.
"It's nice to meet you too. I know I haven't been there for my son, but I have always kept an eye out for him. I know you have been good to him and have been even better for him. Thank you."
Kate nodded and turned her attention back to Rick who was staring, almost transfixed at his father. She moved to his side and reached out for his hand. She squeezed it gently, as much of a reassurance that she was there for him as it was for something to pull him back to the present.
It seemed to work. Rick looked to his father then back over to Kate. "If it's okay with Kate, I'd like to have you there tomorrow."
Kate nodded again.
Hunt breathed a sigh of relief. "Just please don't bring it to Martha's attention. I don't want to hurt her."
Rick agreed quietly, but was still lost in his thoughts.
"You two had better go to your dinner. Thank you for letting me be a part of this, Richard. It means a lot," he told them as he made his way out of the room.
Rick seemed to wake out of his haze and bolted to the door. "Wait a minute - " but his words died off when he saw the empty corridor. It made sense that the CIA operative would know how to disappear quickly.
"Are you okay?" Kate came up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his back.
"Yeah. It just threw me off. I wasn't expecting to see him again. I definitely didn't expect him to come to our wedding, let alone perform our ceremony. Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Rick, if you want your father there, I want him there," she answered honestly.
Rick pulled her around so he could look in her eyes. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"I know," she teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.
He smiled. "We probably should get over to the Old Haunt or they'll send a search party for us."
Kate laughed. "You're probably right."
They left the library hand in hand and by the time they got to the Old Haunt, the party was in full swing.
"Where have you guys been?" Alexis asked as they walked in the door.
"We just had to talk about some last minute details," Kate told her.
"Hey girlfriend," Lanie practically sang as she danced over to hug her best friend.
"How're those drinks Lanie?" Rick asked her as she turned to hug him.
"Delicious," she grinned. "Now that the happy couple is here, we can do our toasts!" Lanie led the couple to their places and began tapping her knife on her glass. The room quieted immediately.
"I know I'm not the only one to be thinking this," Lanie began. "But it's about damn time these two get married!"
The room erupted into laughter.
"But in all seriousness," she turned her attention to Kate. "I have never seen you happier than when you are with this man. I watched you come alive when you finally let him into your heart. I know when it comes to you two it hasn't always been easy, but you have made it work. You are truly perfect for one another. I'm so proud to be able to call you my best friend and to be a part of your special day. Now, I better stop or I'll have nothing to say tomorrow. I love you girl," Lanie finished and leaned over to pull Kate into a hug.
Kate wiped her eyes. "I love you too, Lanie. Thank you." She reached into her purse and pulled out the jewelry boxes that held the gifts for her girls. She passed them out and each face lit up as they saw the beautiful necklaces. Kate beamed at her bridal party. Everything was perfect.
Esposito and Ryan chose that moment to stand up and clear their throats together. "Our turn," Ryan announced and Esposito nodded his head.
"Bro, you're like family to us," Esposito began.
"We love you like a brother," Ryan continued.
"But if you hurt Beckett - "
"Or is it Castle now too?" Ryan interrupted.
"Either way. We won't hesitate to kill you," Esposito told him seriously.
"We're cops, man. We know how to hide a body," Ryan added.
Rick laughed nervously while Kate glared at the boys. "I promise I'll treat her right, guys."
"Then you've got nothing to worry about," Esposito grinned and the room laughed again.
"You know, if you aren't going to be nice, I may decide not to give you your gifts," Rick told them with an attempt to keep a straight face.
Esposito glared at him.
Rick held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, you win." He reached behind the table and pulled out two large bags.
The guys pulled the paper out and looked at each other, then at Rick with matching grins.
"Our own laser tag gear?" Ryan asked as his grin continued to grow (if that was even possible).
Rick nodded.
"Bro. I love you, man," Esposito said as he pretended to get all choked up. The guys looked at each other then sandwiched Rick in a hug.
Kate and Lanie rolled their eyes. "Boys," Kate said as she shook her head.
The rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. Their friends and family laughed and talked well into the evening, but surprisingly, it was Lanie who decided the festivities were over. She sent everyone on their way because beauty sleep was a necessity for everyone involved in the wedding. Lanie felt it was her duty to make sure everyone was home at a suitable hour. She didn't want to see anyone with circles under their eyes. No one wanted to argue with Dr. Parish so the Old Haunt cleared out pretty quickly.
When Rick and Kate walked into the loft after the festivities, it was dark and they nearly tripped over the big box in the entryway.
"What is that?" Rick asked as Kate smiled.
"Your wedding present."
"Oh! I'll be right back. I want to give you yours tonight. You'll need it tomorrow." Rick sprinted from the room and was back before Kate could even move the box to the living room.
Kate laughed. He really was like a kid hopped up on candy and the excitement of Christmas. Rick helped her with the large box and led Kate into the living room.
"You first," he told her as he placed the box in her hands.
Kate unwrapped the paper and saw the velvet box. She looked at him in question, but his gaze urged her to open it. When she opened the box and saw the blue butterfly clip she was speechless.
"Do you like it?" he asked her eagerly.
"It's perfect," she breathed. "Something new, and blue."
Rick beamed at her. "When I saw it, I thought back to the blue butterfly case, and I couldn't resist. It feels like a piece of our history."
Kate leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you. I love it." It was her turn to watch when she picked up the box and placed it in his lap.
"What did you do?" he teased as he opened the box.
When Rick pulled the typewriter out, he looked at it, then back at Kate. His eyes were shining and just when she thought his smile couldn't get any bigger, it did. "How did you find this?" he asked.
Kate shrugged. "A magician never reveals her secrets," she joked. "But, actually I - "
"No, I don't want to know," he interrupted. "I like the mystery. This is perfect, thank you," he told her sincerely. Rick set the typewriter down on the coffee table and pulled Kate to him. "I love you."
She relaxed into his embrace. "I love you too. I can't believe by this time tomorrow I'll be Mrs. Richard Castle."
Rick grinned. "I can't believe it's finally here! Can you believe it's your last night as a single woman?"
Kate turned and kissed him sweetly. "I haven't been single for a long time," she winked. "But I can't wait to be a married woman."
"Tommorrow," Rick told her as he helped her up and led her to their bedroom.
"Tomorrow," she grinned.
Thanks for reading, please share your thoughts! xoKristen
