Chapter 29

The words 'decisions, decisions' were taking on new meaning. Kate woke in her apartment wondering if Rick and Alexis were still seeing flower arrangements in their heads, too. She was looking forward to working on the case from yesterday and falling back into something more routine for a while.

She was awake earlier than usual, so she opened her laptop and googled wedding gowns. After an hour of looking, she had seen beautiful dresses, but none she wanted - she couldn't even identify a style that appealed to her. Lanie would not be happy. Instead of spending fruitless hours scouring the web for something identified as a wedding dress, maybe she could get Lanie and Alexis and Martha to go shopping with her. Wasn't whatever you wore for your wedding a wedding dress? They would all want new dresses for the wedding, so she would look for something white and perfect, and they could all go shopping together. No private showings, just a group of women trying to dress well for a party. Maybe Martha would know of a few places to shop that she and Lanie hadn't thought of.

With that decision made, she felt much better. She was now ready to shower and dress and face the day.

As he headed to his desk with his coffee, Esposito met Beckett near the break room. "Did you take care of what you needed to do yesterday?"

"We did. Thanks for finishing up."

"Anything to help. Just let us know. Ryan still thinks it can't be done."

"Well, I'm beginning to believe anything Castle tells me. What we've already accomplished is a pretty good start."

"I haven't seen a ring yet."

"And you won't see it here for a while yet. It's in the works. And we can't talk about that here, either."

"Okay."

"Castle wants the two of you at the loft tomorrow night. Can you get there?"

"I can. I'll check with Ryan."

"I'm getting coffee, then you can bring me up to speed on anything I missed yesterday."

"You got it."

"So where are we?" Kate asked, returning and sipping her fresh cup of coffee.

The boys filled her in on the little she had missed after she left, and they set up the board together. Castle came in later with coffee for all four of them and an assortment of pastries…a gesture of appreciation for the boys' willingness to cover for them the afternoon before. He asked a few questions and they talked possibilities. Then Lanie called.

"No, Lanie. Let me come there and see what you've got.

"Are we going to the morgue?"

"I'm going to the morgue. I'll tell you what she found when I get back." Much more softly she added, "I need to talk to Lanie and Alexis without you, okay?"

Just as softly he asked "About the…"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll find something to do to keep me out of Gates' way."

"I shouldn't be too long," she told him as she left."

Pulling his chair up to Ryan's desk, Castle said, "I think I've been deserted, gentlemen. Help me look involved enough that Gates doesn't start wanting to kick me out."

They both understood and included him as they searched for further background on yesterday's victim.

xxxxx

"Hey, Lanie. What have you got?"

"Looks like our victim died of an overdose. Cocaine. There isn't anything to tell me she was a regular user, though. It could have been forced into her. This bruising on her face could be fingerprints, and there were other similar marks on her arms. They were all under her clothes, so we didn't see it until we got her in here. She could have been restrained…her mouth covered so she'd have to breathe it in through her nose. Looks like it would have taken two people."

"Hey Kate." Alexis brightened as she came in from an errand for Lanie.

"That's just the preliminary findings. We haven't done the autopsy yet."

"Well, at least it gives us something to look at. Javi has a couple of co-workers and a neighbor who was a close friend coming in to talk to us this afternoon. The family will be here tomorrow. That's the soonest they could arrange a flight from Montana."

"Is anybody else here?" Kate asked quietly.

"Nope. Just us."

"I spent about an hour this morning looking at wedding dresses, and I don't want one of those. There's a look about them that doesn't feel like me. I'm going to look for a long, white dress. Can we all shop for dresses together? I thought I'd ask Martha to come along, too."

"She's always ready for a shopping trip," Alexis chimed in, "and she knows the best places to shop. She doesn't always choose what I would once we're there, but she takes me to some great places."

"Then Martha's definitely in," Lanie said with a big smile.

"Tomorrow after work?"

"Sounds great."

"Back to work. Thanks Lanie"

"I'll send more when I have it," she promised, taking out the tools of her trade and putting on fresh gloves.

xxxxx

The afternoon was spent in interviews with the people who seemed to know the victim best, and they gleaned some good information from the interviews.

Ryan and Esposito had tracked down a couple of people mentioned in the first interview and were going to meet one of them before he had time to leave work. He wasn't as savory a character as the people they had spoken to earlier and not as likely to show up if they called first.

Close to time to leave work, Beckett was thinking about their wedding again. "Hors d'oeurves, huh?" Kate joked as she and Castle returned to her desk. "Should we order pizza just in case?

"I've worked with this woman for years for parties at the beach house. The food is great. You just need to choose your favorites. It shouldn't be like…whatever that color was," he chuckled.

"We can handle that, can't we?"

"Yeah. I think we can." He looked at his watch. "Almost time," he said.

"Let me talk to the captain. Maybe we can go a few minutes early." Kate went to the captain's door and reported their progress. "And Ryan and Esposito are talking to one of them now. We'll catch the other one on his way in to work tomorrow morning. Until we get the autopsy report, we can't do much more. We'll be in early tomorrow."

"Thank you, detective. Go on home…and get your shadow out of here, too."

"Yes, sir," Kate answered.

Returning to her desk, she reported to Castle as she picked up her purse and put the file in her desk drawer, "I've been ordered to go home…and to get you out of here, too."

"I can work with that."

xxxxx

They arrived at the loft about half an hour before the caterer. Castle was right. Most of what was there was delicious, so they chose some of everybody's favorites. The boys wouldn't care; they would eat just about anything. The kind of cake was easy. But then there were design decisions. They were left with another book of pictures and given the option of asking for variations.

Alexis seemed restless while all that was happening, and Castle asked what was wrong.

"Ash's parents decided to pick him up at spring break and visit relatives, so he didn't get home after all, but he's coming home this weekend to see me. He said that's his only reason for coming home, and I don't know what to expect. It makes me nervous."

"What do you want to happen?"

"I don't know, Dad. I don't want to hope for anything because I don't have a clue what he wants to talk about. I don't even know if I want to hope for anything. It wasn't working before."

"I wish I knew how to help, Honey."

"Me, too. He'll be here really late on Friday night, time difference and everything, so I won't see him until Saturday afternoon. His parents will expect him to spend some time with them first."

"It's going to be a long few days, huh?"

"Maybe the shopping tomorrow night will take your mind off it a little while," Kate offered.

"Maybe. It can't hurt," Alexis agreed. "And there's rehearsal after work on Thursday. Some of us have been going out for a little while afterward. That should help, too." Taking a deep breath and seeming to shift focus, she said, "Labels again, Dad. Let's decide on this cake tonight."

They flipped pages and stuck labels, laughing at some, looking in awe at others, and they had narrowed their choices down to five by the time Martha got home. They dragged her into the kitchen, pulled a chair over beside them, and had fun showing her the good, the bad, and the ugly. Martha mentioned the pros and cons she saw in each of the top five, and they chose one. Another decision down.

Work dragged by the next day. There wasn't much to work with yet, and frustration was taking over when there was a call about another body. Preliminary work was done there, and they all went home.

The women all met at the loft, and Castle had a car ready to take them where they wanted to go. They let Martha choose the places to start, and they weren't disappointed. They found a few things they liked at the first one, but Kate found nothing that appealed to her. As the others wandered around in the second shop, a rather exclusive, up scale, place, Kate spotted a white dress and went to try it on without saying a word to anybody. Seeing at herself in the mirror, she thought she might have found what she was looking for.

"What do you think?" she asked as she walked out to show them. Martha turned first.

"Oh, Darling. That's stunning," she said quietly.

"That's the one, Alexis told her confidently."

"I don't think you could improve on it," Lanie agreed.

"Martha ordered, "Turn around. Let's get the full effect," as she walked toward Kate.

Kate turned, and the dress seemed made for her from any angle. The fabric was satiny, but soft, felt wonderful to the touch and draped beautifully. The front was a cowl neck, high enough to hide scars in the front. The back was draped as well, high enough to be decent for a wedding, but low enough to make Castle a happy man. The sleeves were three-quarter length, close fitting, but with a soft look, and the fabric fell beautifully into a slightly flared, floor length skirt.

"It's perfect, Martha told her, and the others nodded. Do you like it?"

"Yes." Kate almost whispered. She started to look for a price, but Martha was faster.

"You are not to know the price of anything, remember?" she said softly to Kate. "Richard's orders. He said you agreed to that."

They kept their voices down, and Lanie and Alexis were keeping watch to be sure no one was moving into earshot as they talked.

"It was hard to agree to that," Kate admitted.

"I know. But it means a lot to him to do this for you. It's important to him to give you exactly what you want."

"But all I really want is Rick…and you and Alexis."

"I know that, too. And I can't tell you how I love you for it. You look beautiful, Kate, absolutely beautiful," she said, taking Kate's hand and standing at arm's length from her for one more look.

"This is the one," Kate said. "I'm not looking at anything else. It even feels right. This is really happening. I'm nervous and scared, but I've never been so happy."

"Neither has my son. Look at you," Martha said, releasing Kate's hand. "Richard will be lucky if he can find his voice long enough to repeat his vows. Now, go and change, and see if you can work your magic on finding everybody else something that perfect."

Lanie and Alexis watched the exchange between Martha and Kate, and as Kate went to change, Lanie said, "Both of you really do love my girl, too, don't you?"

"Yeah, we do. And I think she loves us, too. It feels right."

Lanie put an arm around Alexis' shoulders. "Well, let's find these dresses and get this show on the road. It can't happen soon enough for me."

"You know what?" Alexis interjected, "We should have called Jenny, and probably Maddie. I don't know Maddie, but she's important to Kate. We probably won't find everything tonight; let's get them in on the next trip. Looks like we already found the most important thing on the list."

They finally found a great dress for Lanie, and Martha wouldn't let her pay for that, either. Richard's orders, she insisted.

The next day at work, Lanie found out Castle had the boys over while they were gone so his tailor could measure them for tuxedos, also courtesy of Castle. The following week, he would bring the one for Castle's final fitting and two more that he would alter for the two detectives. Lanie had to hand it to him. Castle was making things happen, and it did all seem to be happening under the radar.

xxxxx

Saturday finally came, and the whole family was concerned about Alexis, who was nervous all morning. Ash finally arrived, and after greeting him, they tried to make themselves scarce, Rick and Kate staying in his study and Martha going out to meet a friend. Before long, Alexis came to the study to tell them she and Ash were going to take a walk.

Kate hugged her and whispered, "The little park just past the flower cart worked well for your dad and me." She gave Alexis a little kiss on the side of her head and said. "I hope it turns out for the best…whatever that is."

"I do, too," her father agreed, joining them. He kissed her as well, she returned to Ash, and they left.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm about to lose my little girl?" he asked.

"Because you've finally acknowledged that she's growing up…and there's the possibility that there could be another man in her life who could be as important as you."

"I think I'm jealous."

"You're asking her to share you with me," Kate pointed out.

"Touché."

All our worlds are changing. I think we're handling it pretty well, but this has to be a tough one for you…not knowing where it's going.

"It is. I don't want her hurt, but I don't want to give her up to somebody else, either."

"I could distract you while the house is empty," she suggested.

"That would help a lot," he said, turning her toward his room.

xxxxx

Realizing how long they had been in bed, Kate and Rick got up and got dressed just before Alexis came home. She was alone, but in good spirits, and said Ashleigh was taking her out for dinner and a movie. He was back in about an hour, well-dressed and smiling, and they seemed as relaxed with one another as they used to.

"Have fun." Castle said as they left, only half meaning it.

"Looks like the walk must have gone well," Kate observed.

"He's the only guy she's ever been seriously interested in. She really believed they were in love, and I saw a little of that look when they left. Does it make me a bad father to have wished it wouldn't work out? She's been seeing more of Brandon lately, but she doesn't seem that taken with him."

"Would you approve of Ashleigh…if it were someone else's daughter?"

Castle laughed. "If it were someone else's daughter, I'd be right there in his corner. He's a good guy…bright, responsible, good to my daughter…or was until he got to Stanford, up front with things, stands up for what he believes in…likes my writing."

"Oh, yeah," Kate answered with a little smirk. That last one is a matter of great importance.

"He's a good kid," Castle concluded. "Nice family. Good values. I'm just being…"

"A dad?" Kate finished for him.

"Yeah. One of those," he admitted.

"Well at least you didn't have to meet the guy my dad met when I was her age."

"Well, that puts Ash in perspective," he answered with a grimace. "A little wine to wash that picture from my mind?" he asked.

"Sure."

They sat at the kitchen table and talked and enjoyed their wine.

"You're going to be living here in another week. Can we go to your place and bring some things for you to wear to work, even if you want to be sneaky about it for another few days? It's really nice having you here when we wake up."

"Why don't we go now, while Alexis is out, in case she doesn't come back in as good a mood as when she left? She might need someone to talk to…or a hug…or whatever. She'd want her dad."

"She seems to go to you just as quickly lately."

"Does that bother you? Am I invading your territory?"

"Maybe a little," he smiled, "but I love seeing the two of you together."

"Just give me some kind of signal if you want to take over, okay?"

"I will."

"Let's go move some wardrobe," Rick said, standing. Be right back. He came back with a big duffel bag and a garment bag. "Enough for all week if we need it, he explained. Work clothes, shoes, make-up, whatever."

"No argument."

"Good," he answered as he walked toward the door.

xxxxx

At Kate's apartment, he waited while she decided what she needed to take, realizing he needed to reorganize his closet to accommodate her and probably get another chest or dresser for his room. There was space for one. That was something he could take care of next week, too. He wanted her to feel there was space for her to belong. He smiled to himself, thinking she would say he could call his 'furniture guy.'

He leaned against the bedroom door with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, watching her pack the duffel bag. "What do you want to do about telling Gates?" he asked. "It's your job, so it's your decision. She'd probably be happy to get rid of me. There's no way it's going to be a comfortable conversation no matter when you have it, but you need to decide whether to tell her before or after the wedding. There isn't a lot of time left if you want to tell her before. If we want a couple of months to prove ourselves, we can wait until sometime in June and hope she isn't angry enough to throw me out on the spot. If you ever want to quit, you know I'd be okay with that; but I don't see it happening any time soon. I don't want to quit any time soon, either."

"I don't want to quit. It's part of who I am." She stopped what she was doing and hesitated before she spoke again. "Rick, I want to take your name legally, but how much would it bother you for me to keep being Beckett at work? "My whole professional reputation was built as Kate Beckett. I'd have to retrain everybody who knows me professionally."

"I think I expected that. I don't mind your keeping your work name. If we can keep working together, it would probably make it less awkward, too. "Will you be Mrs. Castle other than at work?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to be anybody else," she said with a smile.

"That's enough to keep my male ego going," he said with an answering smile. "So what do we do about Gates?"

"I don't know. I probably should tell her, but I'd rather prove to her that we can keep it professional. It probably isn't going to be pretty either way." She looked thoughtful for a long moment, then said, "Let's see if we can prove that we can stay professional. Of course, she'll probably use it as an excuse to run straight to the mayor."

Castle suddenly had a big grin on his face and seemed extremely amused about something.

"What's that look about?"

"The mayor will undoubtedly ask her if there's been a problem with inappropriate behavior or inefficiency on the job."

"And?"

"And then he'll tell her that he officiated at the ceremony."

"The mayor is going to marry us?! Even after I was ready to arrest him for murder? Do you think we can get that under the radar? And you don't think that might make Gates more determined…at minimum a lot angrier?"

"Radar? Bob is taking his tux to my tailor, and it's going to be delivered with the others next week. We'll already have it at the house. He'll go to another friend's house and come to mine dressed for a neighborly visit. And maybe I'll grow on Gates by then and she won't want to be without me."

"You think so? I wouldn't start counting those last chickens yet. How many nights did you lie awake planning all this?"

"Alexis tried to warn you," he answered unapologetically. "Another friend in the Hamptons is a minister. He'll be there, too. They'll both pronounce us man and wife. I didn't want to offend anybody by leaving them out."

"What have I gotten myself into?" she chuckled, shaking her head and getting back to her packing. "Do you have an actual list of everything else that needs to be done, or is it all in your head?"

"Oh, no, there's an actual list."

"Could I have an actual copy, so I know where we are?"

"Sure. I'll print one for you when we get back. Are you just about done?"

"The garment bag is ready. Just needs to be zipped, and I'll be done here in a couple of minutes."

Castle pushed off the doorway and zipped the bag. "Have you packed underwear yet? I don't mind helping you pick that out," he offered helpfully with the garment bag swung over one shoulder."

"Sorry. You're too late," she said as she zipped the bag.

Castle picked up the bag with his lower lip out in a pout.

"Come on, you big baby," she teased. "Take me home."