Playing Hard to Get

Chapter 31

Kate, Alexis, and Martha were at Lanie's apartment to get Kate ready for her wedding. And Rick, Javi, and Kevin were at the loft getting Rick into his tux for the wedding.

With her hair and makeup complete, Kate was finally alone in the bedroom. She yanked off her towel and stood there while debating whether to wear any underwear. Granted, she could wear panties and tease Castle by telling him she had gone commando, but it would be more fun to be naked under this dress. Not like anyone was going to notice. Besides, they were going to be having a lot of sex tonight as husband and wife.

Kate slipped on her petticoat, put on her dress and shoes, and stepped out of the room. She stopped and spun around. "What do you think?" Kate had seriously never been this happy in her life. She had never felt this pretty either. Her dress, her money, well, what remained of Castle's 80 grand, and she was happy with her dress.

"You look incredible, Kate." Alexis could only hope she looked this good at her own wedding someday.

"Amazing, Katherine, simply amazing." Martha had never seen anyone so beautiful.

"You're going to make me cry, girlfriend." Lanie covered her mouth with her hands and did start crying already.

Martha moved a step closer to the bride. "I have something for you, Katherine. Only women of substance have ever worn these. My mother gave these to me to wear, but I never had a daughter, so they belong to you now. In case you needed something blue." Martha opened the case she was holding to show them to her.

"Oh, Martha, they're gorgeous." Kate didn't even dare touch them. Martha had to take them out to get Kate to take off the earrings she was wearing and put these on one at a time. Then suddenly, a mirror showed up in front of her so she could see herself wearing them.

Kate saw herself, saw the earrings, and saw tears starting. "Thank you, Martha." Kate hugged her and watched Alexis hand her a Kleenex for her tears.

"Here are your flowers." Lanie handed Kate her beautiful bouquet to carry while she walked down the aisle with her dad. "Have you got Castle's ring?"

Kate raised her hand to show Lanie the ring on her thumb. Rick had big fingers, and damn if she didn't love his hands on her body.

"Then let's get you married, girlfriend. I thought this day might never happen," Lanie told them.

Kate took exception to that and glared at her. "Gee, thanks, Lanie."

"Don't give me that, girl. If you hadn't finally seen what the rest of us saw in Castle, you'd be single for the rest of your life. Now let's go. Your limo, compliments of your groom, is downstairs waiting. Probably double parked." Lanie got everyone moving.

There was a long, all-white limo downstairs waiting for them. Yes, the driver was double parked, and he jumped out the second he spotted a wedding dress, racing around to open the door for her and the others.

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Espo was getting exasperated. "Will you hurry up, Castle! You're gonna to be late for your own wedding."

"I'm trying!" Rick yelled. Finally, he came out of the master bedroom dressed, all decked out and ready.

Espo liked what he saw. "You clean up nice for a civilian, Castle."

"This time, it's not my wedding." Ryan was happy about that. Jenny would always be the prettiest woman he had ever seen, but he couldn't wait to see Beckett in a wedding dress.

"Beckett's wedding ring?" Espo inquired and watched Castle rummage through his pockets till he came up with it. "Don't you dare do that while you're standing up there, bro! Beckett just might kill you before she can become a Castle."

"How are we going to handle having two Castles sitting side by side? Who's going to respond when we call out Castle?" Kevin hadn't worked out just how that was going to work.

"Well, since I'll be in the Hamptons soon after this, that won't be a problem," Rick revealed. "I need to finish writing my next Nikki Heat book. Once it's done, Kate and I are going on our honeymoon for two weeks."

"Two weeks with no Beckett?" Espo hadn't really thought about that until now. He and his partner would be in trouble with only the two of them solving murders.

Ryan got them moving. "Come on, let's go! I want to see Beckett."

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Kate only had Martha with her while they waited for the ceremony to begin. Martha handed her another Kleenex to use for those fresh tears. "She's here, Katherine. Don't ask me how and you'll never see her, but your mother is here. She's sitting right up front. We added an empty chair just for her, so there are 351 chairs out there." It was part of her present to Katherine for her wedding day.

Suddenly Kate was full-on crying and doing her best to dry her tears and not ruin her makeup. Kate hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Martha."

"I'm going to go find Jim and get you married." Martha left her, and minutes later, Kate saw her dad join her.

"You look so much like your mother, Katie. Both so beautiful," Jim told her, fighting his own tears. "Did you know there's an out-of-place chair out there? Right up front."

Kate nodded. "Yes, Dad, I know. Martha said that's Mom's chair." She kept dabbing at her tears.

Jim swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment. Oh, how he missed his Jo. "Do you have Rick's ring?" Jim saw her nod again, and she held her hand up to show it to him. "Then let's get you married. He's a very good man, Katie bug. You did really well with him."

Kate took in a deep breath. "I'm ready, Dad." Dear God, she was about to get married!

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Jim and Kate could hear the music she had selected playing. They were noticed then the music turned into Mendelssohn's "Wedding March". "Here we go, Katie." Jim placed his hand over hers and started walking.

Kate saw everyone looking at her. She recognized several of them but didn't know a few of them. Castle's writer friends were here. Even Patterson was here with his wife, Susan. There was Mayor Weldon and his wife. Roy and his wife, Evelyn. And the Commissioner and his wife. Kate's jaw almost dropped. Some of the most powerful people in this city were here!

Yes, she had read the names, but actually seeing them was something else. Kate spotted her cousin and a few people from her list, like Roz and Ann. Somehow Roy had managed to get nearly all of the 12th here and still keep the Precinct open. That ended the second she saw Rick standing next to Javi and Kevin. Damn, but he looked so incredibly handsome in his tux.

Jim stopped, guided Kate up the step to face Rick, and backed away. Kate handed off her flowers to Lanie.

Judge Markway was doing the honors of marrying them. He had nearly jumped at the chance to preside over their ceremony. He nodded at Rick to offer his vows first. "Richard Castle."

"Kate, I'm told the third time is the charm, but to me, this is my first time. The other two were just trial runs for marrying the woman of my dreams. You've made me be a better man, made me be the man that you deserve to have. I promise to love and honor you for the rest of my life. If you want, you can have a pinky promise." Rick even held out his hand and stuck out his pinky.

Kate couldn't help it, and laughter bubbled out. It was an inside joke for them. Castle couldn't keep his promises because he was a nine-year-old child who didn't understand just what his word meant. She felt silly, but she stuck her hand out and hooked his pinky with hers.

Then Rick made the request official in front of all their friends and family. "Marry me, Katherine Houghton Beckett."

Now it was Kate's turn. She heard Markway say her name and blinked back her tears. She was almost married!

"I thought you were either a nine-year-old on a sugar rush or just a jackass at first. But you proved me wrong over time. I love you, Richard Edgar Castle. I trust you with my life and with my heart. I want nothing more than to be married to you. To live and love each other for the rest of our lives. I accept your offer," Kate said to him, glowing.

The rings came next. Rick added a plain band of rose gold to Kate's engagement ring. Hers for Rick had a diamond in it. He was born on April 1st and a diamond was his birthstone.

"If anyone has just cause for these two not to be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," Markway intoned, not really expecting anyone to say anything. He was all set to marry them officially.

Just then, a female voice rang out. "I DO!" That had everyone turning to look as the woman strode up the aisle.

"Meredith?" Rick couldn't believe his eyes. What the hell was she doing here? He hadn't sent her an invitation. Hell, he had cut out Gina just so they could make it down to 350 people. The President of Black Pawn and his wife were here but not Gina.

Alexis jumped to her feet and demanded, "MOM! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Preventing a wedding, of course," Meredith stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't do this. You might be my mom by birth, but you were never a mother. Kate is more mother already than you've ever been," Alexis said hotly.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! I'm your mother," Meredith shrieked.

"Meredith, what are you doing? We're divorced, and that's never going to change." Rick married Gina after her and knew without a doubt that she held no legal standing.

"Go away, Mom," Alexis snapped. "You're not wanted here."

"NO! I'm here to prevent this travesty from happening," Meredith told her and everyone else.

Meredith didn't see it coming. Hell, not Kate, Rick, nor anyone else saw it coming. Alexis would be hard-pressed to explain why she had done it, but she wound up nice and wide, putting every ounce of herself into it, and slapped Meredith on her cheek just as hard as she could. It was like someone was helping her.

The sound of that slap could be heard loud and clear by everyone. It even left a mark on Meredith's face for hours. That Alexis had hit her – HER had Meredith frozen in place. Slowly her hand came up to touch her face, and she stared at Alexis in shock. Her daughter had struck her.

"No one wants you here, Mom. Where's the police!? It's a private event, and she does not have an invitation. Arrest her and get her out of here. I'll sign any form required to arrest her. Just get her out of here," Alexis asked someone.

Meredith stood there frozen in disbelief. Then suddenly, three people had hands on her and she was being taken away. Meredith was nearly dragged off by Roz Karpowski, while Ann Hastings and Roy Montgomery assisted her off the grounds.

Once they were outside, Roy used his phone to call for a car. Ten minutes later, a handcuffed Meredith was in the back seat of a cruiser, screaming obscenities at all of them as the cruiser drove away so she could spend the next 24 hours in lock-up.

"Unless there is anyone else?" Markway had just watched, but whoever she was, she absolutely was going to feel his wrath after this.

"I officially pronounce you husband and wife," Markway told everyone. "You can kiss your wife," he whispered since these two were still just standing there.

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One hundred twenty of them found a bus waiting for them while everyone else got to go home. A few questioned why until they heard that the reception could only seat 120 people.

Still, everyone found a signed copy of Heat Wave by Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett waiting for them in their chairs.

Rick and Kate were at the exit shaking hands, thanking everyone for coming, and answering whatever short and easy questions they had.

Rick had found a way to include the next man and his wife and kept them on the list but not the reception list. "Mr. Director."

"Mr. Castle. My wife and I thank you for the privilege of attending your wedding. Mrs. Castle, it has been a pleasure." He shook both their hands. "I brought a friend along with me. He wasn't invited and didn't have a seat, but he didn't mind." With that, the Director of the CIA left with his wife.

"Richard, it was a privilege to witness your wedding. Perhaps we will meet again. Detective, a lovelier bride I have never seen." He took her hand in both of his.

Kate could say she had never seen him before, but he looked familiar somehow. "Thank you, and you are?"

"My name is Jackson Hunt. If I may ask, where is the honeymoon?" Assuming she told him, Jackson planned to be in the area no matter what it took.

"Um, Tahiti on a cruise ship," Kate replied, unsure why he needed to know.

"Beaches. Excellent choice." He smiled at them both and departed.

"Rick, did you know him? There's just something about him." She was still having trouble placing it.

"Never saw him before. At least, I don't think so." Rick was trying to take the gray hair away, make it darker and then place him. There was a memory, but it was buried and would take time to find.

Kate and Rick thanked everyone else before getting in a lone limo for the ride to the reception. All their close friends and family were taken there in town cars compliments of Castle.

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Kate felt tears the second she walked into the space. It looked just like she had pictured it when she was a teenager and thought about getting married.

"K-BECKS!" a voice yelled, and suddenly Madison was crushing her in a hug. Then she finally let go of her. "Look at you. You're married!" She couldn't believe it. "And this is your hunk of a husband." Madison looked him over before hugging him. "I have a two-person table in the kitchen at Q3. It's yours any time you decide to show up. If there's someone already there, I'll kick them out. They can never come back again. Who cares!"

"You didn't attend the wedding?" Kate didn't remember seeing her leave and thought she had seen everyone.

"I sneaked out. I had to make sure your wedding cake was still in one piece, or someone would die," Madison told her. "OH! COP! Just a figure of speech. I wouldn't actually kill someone."

Kate burst out laughing. "You have my phone number, and I have yours. I expect you to keep in touch now."

"Count on it." Madison had found her and would stay in touch for as long as possible.

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Kate helped Rick cut the first piece of cake, and she had to admit she'd never seen a cake like it. It was almost literally a castle, and the bride and groom figures were inside this archway at the top of a pair of curved stairs. There had to be 25 or more spires on the top. It was hard to say how many tiers there were, but Kate guessed eight. There was a pumpkin coach with horses between the stairs and angels all over it all the way around.

One problem was just where to cut it. Still, Kate had a piece, and since her inner devil told her to do it, she did. She took a handful, tried to shove it into his mouth, and smeared it all over Rick's face. Standing back and looking at her work had her laughing her ass off.

Still, she gladly danced the first dance with him followed by one with her dad.

"You look happy, Katie," Jim commented while they danced.

"I am happy, Dad. I'm married, and I love him so very much. I don't want to know what would happen to me if I lost him. It'll break me." Kate stopped dancing and let him hold her.

"You're the homicide detective. You get to protect him, Alexis and Martha, and any children you have," Jim reminded her.

"About those twins! Why didn't you and Mom tell me?" Kate waited for an answer from him.

"They died as babies. What was there to tell? Neither of us was old enough to remember them. Our parents suffered from their deaths, not us. Just be ready to have twins, Katie. Your family history is full of them," Jim warned her.

"Swell." Kale went back to dancing with him.

"So, where is Lilly?" Jim expected to see her at the wedding. Maybe not so much here.

"Dog sitter. The sites refused to allow the dogs to attend, so we had little choice," Kate explained. "I need to save them some cake, though. Castle even offered an unspecified amount of money, but they still refused."

"He truly is a good man, Katie. I still can't believe you married your mother's favorite author. She has to be laughing her ass off," Jim said with a chuckle, and that got Kate to start laughing.

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"Happy, Mrs. Castle?" Rick had her alone again though most everyone was still there.

"Very, Mr. Castle." Kate was in heels, so she didn't have to get on tiptoe to kiss him. "By the way, I'm not wearing any underwear," Kate whispered in his ear.

"KATE!" Rick groaned loudly, and Kate smiled at him oh so sweetly. She had gotten the reaction she wanted out of him. The only downside to this day was that Kate had to work the day after tomorrow. Roy had given her tomorrow off, and she had planned to make love to Rick all of tonight and well into tomorrow, followed by tomorrow night before going back to work.

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They were the very last two to leave. Kate needed the bride and groom figures, the top tier of the cake to freeze for their first anniversary, and some cake for the dogs to taste test.

The crew was already starting clean up. Most of the cake was already gone to people who had attended. Madison was gone, all of their friends were gone, and Rick had an arm around her.

Their photographers would send pictures to them in a few days. Now they were looking the site over.

"Our wedding is over, babe. Can you believe it? From where we started to now." Kate was amazed herself. "And what the hell did Meredith think she was doing?" Kate still didn't believe what that witch had tried to do.

"I have no idea." He was never going to understand Meredith. "Did you see Alexis?" Rick didn't believe that either.

"She slapped her!" Kate looked at Rick in disbelief. "Hard." The sound was so loud it was almost impossible to miss.

"We can talk when we get home, maybe. Kate, did you honestly go commando under that dress?" He didn't know if she had, or if she was only teasing because teasing was something she would do to him.

"Completely naked." She tilted her head and smiled slyly. "You planning on doing something about that, babe?" Kate cried out when he grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him as she stumbled at first to keep up.