A/N: This is set after 'Till Death Do Us Part' (Ep. 4x11).

"So how was the wedding?" Jim asked, when he and Kate caught up over the phone a few days after Kevin Ryan and Jenny O'Malley were joined together in holy matrimony.

"It was beautiful, Dad. My kind of wedding – fun but still meaningful, heartfelt but not too sentimental, small and intimate. Lots of laughter, music and dancing, family and good friends. Jenny looked amazing. She and Kevin are such a great couple."

"I take it all your friends from the precinct were there."

"Of course," Kate said. "Espo and Lanie's dates were… interesting. Lanie brought this gorgeous doctor, and Javi brought this statuesque girl who looks like a model. But then it turned out that Lanie's date was gay, and Javi's date was his cousin."

She laughed. "Personally, I think they were just trying to convince themselves that they were moving on after their breakup."

"Their breakup?" Jim was surprised. "I didn't even know they were dating."

"Yeah, they were together for a while. They tried to keep it a secret at first, but we all figured it out pretty early on. They broke up a couple of months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must make things a little awkward at work."

"Sometimes," Kate agreed. "But they were in a really good place at the wedding. I guess seeing what they were both up to reminded them that although it didn't work out, they still care about each other. They're always going to be good friends. And who knows? Maybe they'll give it another try sometime. Relationships can be… complicated."

"You can say that again," Jim said, thinking of Kate and her Castle. They were supposedly both single, but in Jim's eyes, they had more of a relationship than many people who were openly involved. They just had to be honest and acknowledge it… first to themselves, and then to each other.

"So I guess you and Castle ended up at the singles table," he added.

"Thankfully, no," Kate said.

"So you had a date?"

"Yeah," Kate replied briefly, before launching into a commentary aimed at diverting Jim from the subject. "I mean, I have nothing against going to weddings alone, and sometimes sitting at the singles table isn't so bad – in spite of the lingering scent of lonely desperation. But at Kevin's wedding, all the people I knew brought dates, so it just made more sense to have one too, instead of having uncomfortable conversations with people I don't know."

Jim wasn't so easily distracted. "So who exactly were you with, Katie?"

Kate paused. "Castle," she said finally, and then scrambled to explain. "It wasn't exactly planned. Castle was going to bring Alexis, but she had other plans – plans involving a Lady Gaga concert. And so he and I just figured, why not be each other's plus one? It was a purely practical decision."

Jim smiled at her attempt to downplay what had obviously meant more to her than a simple expediency. "That's the second wedding you've been to with Castle, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Kate was puzzled for a second, and then recollection dawned. "Oh, Kyra's wedding. I can't believe you remember that, Dad. That was ages ago."

"I remember pretty much everything we talk about, Katie. For one thing, they're some of the most precious conversations I have. And one of the perils of practicing law for decades is that you learn to recall discussions in detail."

"I know exactly what you mean," Kate said. "When your job involves questioning people, you learn to pick up on every little point, every inconsistency in a narrative. Even in the most insignificant situations. The other day I was at the department store and a lady in the line was talking about this cocktail dress that she'd placed on layaway. At first she described it as 'light gold', then was 'actually more like sunflower yellow', then it was 'like a really warm cream', and Dad, I was so tempted to tell her to just stick to her story and stop playing fast and loose with the facts."

They both laughed. "And I love our talks too, Dad," Kate added softly.

Jim smiled. "So what did Castle think of the wedding?" he asked. Not for the first time, he thought to himself how much a part of Kate's inner circle Castle had become over the years… an integral part.

"He had a great time. He was so happy for Kev and Jenny. A couple of times I caught him looking at them, smiling like some proud dad watching his kid get married."

Jim laughed. "Well, I guess it's good practice for him. He'll probably be doing that for real someday."

"Castle would have a meltdown if he heard you say that. I think he's secretly hoping that Alexis stays young and single for as long as possible."

"I can imagine," Jim said. "But it's going to creep up on him. Time always does."

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "But you know, sometimes I actually feel the same way towards Ryan – almost parental," she admitted. "It doesn't seem like that long ago that he reported at my desk to join our squad. He was so excited and eager to learn, so enthusiastic about becoming the very best homicide detective he could be."

She laughed. "Before I'd even finished handing down an instruction, he'd be all over it. And the amazing thing is, even after all the cases we've worked, all the tough things we've seen and been through together, he's still the same sweet, kind, earnest guy. He's not the least bit jaded."

Jim wondered to himself if Castle's presence on the team had helped Kevin Ryan hold on to his hopeful zeal in such a difficult working environment. He'd always had the feeling that both men shared a positive outlook that differed from the more cynical approach shared by Kate and Javier Esposito.

But then having Castle around seemed to be good for the entire squad. Kate had been so somber about her work before he arrived on the scene. Jim had been worried that, along with the personal agony of losing her mother, such a dark and demanding working life would only immerse her more deeply in heaviness and gloom, causing her to lose the lighter, more mischievous side of her personality over time. In the last few years, Jim had taken great pleasure in hearing about the lighthearted fun that Castle seemed to bring to the precinct, reviving Kate's natural playfulness. She was still serious about her job, but now there seemed to be a much healthier balance.

"Speaking of not being jaded," Jim said, "it's interesting to hear that Castle was so… positive at the wedding. Considering he's already walked down the aisle twice, I would have thought that he'd be a little more disillusioned about the institution of marriage. Do you think he might take that walk again someday?"

Kate paused, and when she spoke Jim could tell from her thoughtful tone that she'd asked herself the same question before. "Who knows, Dad? Crazier things have happened. You're right – it's only natural that he'd feel some skepticism towards the idea of marriage. But he actually admitted at the wedding that he was a little jealous of the Ryans' happiness. I told him that maybe third time's a charm. And you know, Dad, I was thinking about it, and failing at it twice has probably taught him some lessons that'll help him succeed the next time around."

"Careful, Katie," Jim teased. "That doesn't sound like something Kate Beckett would say. Not so long ago, you'd have laughed at the idea of Castle getting married again."

"True," Kate acknowledged. "But I guess I know Castle a lot better now. The real Castle. And he's not the same guy we asked down to the precinct three years ago."

"Three years already," Jim mused, thinking back to the day when, after their first case together, he'd asked Kate what she thought about Castle and she'd memorably described him as a jackass.

"I know," Kate replied, "but at the same time, it feels like he's been around for so much longer. Sometimes I can't believe how much our lives have changed since then, but honestly, Dad, sometimes it's even hard to remember what things were like before he showed up."

Jim smiled at the fond note in her voice. "For better or worse, he's part of your life now."

He didn't think Kate would respond, so he was surprised when she said softly, "Yes, he is. And I think he always will be."

Then, as she often did when their conversations got a little too close for comfort, she changed the subject to baseball.

They talked for a while longer. After they had hung up, Jim smiled as he made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He thought to himself that Castle's 'third time's a charm' just might end up coinciding with the third wedding that the writer and Kate would attend together – but not as guests.

A/N: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm so thankful for your warm and generous response.