Author's Note: Shorter than usual chapter, to wrap some things up. There will be an epilogue following this, and then my first multi-chapter Castle fic will be complete! Thank you all for taking this journey with me, and I appreciate all of the support and encouragement. I think you guys are gonna love the epilogue.

The Twelfth…

The security footage from Holding played on a constant loop, showing Dmitri Rankoff reaching across the bars to grab James Bracken's tie before wrapping the garment around the man's neck and pinning him back against the bars. James had struggled with all of the entitlement and bluster one would expect from a man named Bracken, but after a few minutes, he finally released his grip on Rankoff's hands and his body went slack.

Truth be told, it was tough to watch. It didn't matter how much Kate hated the younger Bracken, the entitled little shit who was not nearly as smart or as charming as his father – even if he thought he was – seeing the life slowly, painfully, drained out of him like that wasn't pleasant.

After Bracken's death, things were murkier. The angle of the security camera made it hard to see inside Rankoff's cell. Much of it was bathed in shadow, and whatever happened to Rankoff happened in those shadows.

By the time Rankoff died, only his feet were visible on the monitor.

While Kate and the boys poured over the security footage – their only real lead so far – Lanie was examining James Bracken's remains. She didn't expect to find anything out of the ordinary; after all, she'd seen the same footage they saw. Kate really wanted to hear about Rankoff's body, which was still in Holding as Perlmutter examined it.

She could see Perlmutter hunched over on the live feed, his bald spot front and center on-screen. Under normal circumstances, one of them would crack a joke about it – Esposito had taken to calling him Dr. Rogaine behind his back, and the habit had rubbed off on Lanie – but a potential murder within their own walls was no joking matter. Even if the victims were the very definition of scum.

Esposito emerged from the break room with a mug of coffee in his hand, shaking his head. "Get out of here, Beckett," he said, smirking when she shot him a glare. "Go be with your fiancé. Ryan and I got this."

"But Javi-"

"But nothing," Ryan added, rewinding the security tape to watch the footage again. "Looks like this is gonna be one of the easiest murders we've ever solved. You should go, be with Castle."

Reluctantly, Kate rose from her chair and grabbed her jacket. "Are you sure?"

"Go," Esposito ordered with a shake of his head. "If Perlmutter finds anything interesting, we'll call you."

Bellevue…

Castle's face immediately brightened when he saw Kate walking back in, shedding her jacket and taking her place in the chair beside his bed. Reaching out for her hand, he gave it a squeeze. "You're back early."

"The boys have it covered," she said, raising his hand to place a soft kiss across his knuckles.

Castle arched a brow. "They kicked you out, didn't they?"

"More or less," Kate said with a cheeky grin. "Seems pretty open-and-shut, though. Security footage showed Rankoff strangling James with his own tie."

"Ooh," Castle half-cringed, half-smiled. "I'll have to remember that for my next Storm novel."

"We're still trying to figure out what happened to Rankoff," she added. "Perlmutter's looking him over now. We should hear back soon."

"Betcha it was a cyanide tablet."

Kate frowned a little, her thumb brushing over Castle's knuckles. "That's…actually plausible, Castle. You sure you're alright?"

"Your fiancé is most certainly not alright," Perlmutter quipped as he strode into the room, white lab coat billowing around him. "However, he is correct. Dmitri Rankoff died from cyanide poisoning. In my professional opinion, this was nothing more than your classic murder-suicide."

Kate sat back in her seat with a furrowed brow. "Wait, that's it?"

Perlmutter shrugged. "That's it."

"No." Kate shook her head. "No, it can't be that easy."

"Beckett," Castle said, squeezing her hand, "you know what they say about gift horses."

"Think about it, Castle," she countered, "since when is anything involving us ever that easy?"

"I was abducted on our wedding day and missing for three years," Castle cracked. "Oh, and I was just poisoned. What more do you want?"

Another shrug from Perlmutter. "Two whole weeks without either one of you on the brink of death?"

"Dr. Perlmutter, do I detect some actual concern for my well-being?"

"No, Mr. Castle, because with my luck, your body would end up on my slab."

"Okay, can we stop talking about my fiancé being dead, please?" Kate protested with her bite directed at Perlmutter, and she took a bit of silent satisfaction when she saw his shoulders slump and his eyes move to a random spot on the floor.

Perlmutter raised his hands in surrender, ducking his head before backtracking toward the doorway leading to Castle's room before turning around and heading out. Castle chuckled to himself, grinning from ear-to-ear until Kate's scowl turned into a smile.

"Nice to know some things haven't changed," he muttered before kissing her knuckles.

"That's not the only thing," Kate said, leaning forward and clasping Castle's hand in both of hers. She stared right into his eyes, feeling emotion welling up in hers as relief lifted from her shoulders. The entire ordeal, all three years of wondering if she'd ever see the love of her life again, tracking down every single lead until they all got her nowhere…it had all been worth it.

Kate couldn't believe her fiancé had been found. She definitely couldn't believe he was still alive. And the fact that the people responsible had been vanquished as easily as they had – okay, maybe easy wasn't the right word – this felt like the closest thing to a fairy tale Kate Beckett had ever experienced.

"I mean," Kate tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, biting her lip, "I still wanna marry you."

Castle grinned at that. "And I wanna marry you."

"Then it's settled." Kate leaned in to give her fiancé a soft, loving kiss, one hand moving from his to stroke through his dark, unkempt hair. "We get you out of here, we find a justice of the peace, drive to the Hamptons, and get hitched."

The smile on Castle's face grew. "Get hitched. Listen to you…Kate Beckett, hopeless romantic."

"Nope. Just tired of wasting time."