Slow Burn

Previously...

Castle stares at Kate in awe when she turns to him, so elegant and composed. She's smiling calmly as she slips her hand into his hand. "Peace be with you," she says, leaning close enough to graze his cheek with her lips and nudge his nose as they part. Her scent surrounds him, her perfume imprinted onto his skin, his heart pounds, his whole body shaking.

"And...and also with you," he repeats, prompted by those around him, slightly mechanical, stuttering, with eyes only for Kate.

She's still holding onto his hand when the priest announces, "I now pronounce you husband and wife." Only now there are happy tears in her eyes as the guests applaud and whistle.

"You did say yes, before?" Castle leans over to whisper. "I didn't like...imagine all of that?"

Kate squeezes his hand and takes a steadying breath. "You didn't imagine anything. I told you my dreams were the same as yours. Yes! I said yes," she whispers back, laughing beneath the cover of applause for their newly-wed friends as tears roll down her cheeks.

Chapter 10

A newly-engaged Kate and Castle rise along with everyone else to watch the newly-married Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Ryan walk back up the aisle arm-in-arm. As they pass the end of the pew, Kevin salutes Kate and sweet Jenny blows them both a kiss. The Ryans look unbelievably happy, happier than they have ever looked together and that is saying something.

This observation strikes a deep and comforting note within Kate.

She startles when she feels Castle's hand slide warmly into place against the small of her back, fitting like a notch slotting into a matching puzzle piece, and when she turns towards him he's right there, toe-to-toe with her. Without even thinking, she allows her eyes to flicker down to his mouth where they linger softly.

Castle leans in even closer, smirking when he whispers, "Yeah. My thoughts exactly," in that deep, sexy graze of a voice that makes her insides itch and that she loves but so rarely gets to hear.

He allows his own gaze to linger on Kate's lips for a second before tearing himself away. She rolls her eyes at him but can't help the smile that claims her whole face, just as one claims his.

Finally, Castle clears his throat, piercing the fog of lust that is swirling around them like incense. "So, I was thinking," he says beneath the steady soundtrack of wooden pews creaking and people greeting one another as the slow exodus of the church begins behind the bride and groom. "How about we hang back for a second, let the crush subside, the parking lot empty out a little…or a lot?" He raises his eyebrows and quickly lets them drop, his whole face sparkling with mischief.

Kate looks around them. "Castle, we're in a church. Just how much hanky-panky do you think we can get up to before God strikes us down?"

He holds up a hand. "Oh, that does not sound good. With our track record?" Then he chuckles. "On the other hand, I like where your mind went. But honestly? I only meant for us to take a quiet moment to sit, in peace, before the crazy that will be a Ryan family get together and just…process."

Kate looks vaguely embarrassed. She purses her lips, nods slowly, grasps his sleeve and pulls him back down on the bench beside her. "We can do that, too. Totally."

They sit facing the altar while everyone else heads for the rear of the church. Sunshine streams through the stained glass windows to their right, scattering fragments of light like chips of colored gemstones across the rows of pews and the marble floor. Castle takes her hand, cradling it in both of his on top of his thigh. "We just got engaged," he says reverently.

"We did," Kate agrees with a quick and nervous smile. She looks down to catch him brushing his thumb over her naked ring finger without even realizing that he's doing it.

Eventually, the church empties out. The string quartet ceases to play and the four musicians begin packing up their instruments.

Castle stops staring at their joined hands to look at her; he's so excited he feels a little queasy.

"Are you…" Kate pauses, worried by the look on his face. He seems pale, a little pinched.

"What?"

"Having second thoughts? I mean, it is all kind of sudden and…" He's so quiet that she has to study him closely to try to fathom what he's thinking. "What?" she says, her head cocked to one side in concern.

Castle drops her hand and closes his eyes. He massages the bridge of his nose. "You think this is a mistake, don't you? You're regretting it already. I put you on the spot." He slaps his forehead and shifts in his seat, putting a little space between them. "I knew I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that with Jenny and the little flower people storming the steps. God, will I never learn?"

Kate smiles to herself and reaches out to peel his fingers away from his face. "Rick?" she says gently. "Rick, please look at me?"

He cracks one eye open, and if this weren't such a serious moment between them she would laugh. "I regret nothing," she promises. "You may have put me on the spot, but we needed that. I needed that. You stepped up, Castle. You stepped up for us. Again. You were the brave one. I was merely giving you a way out just now. In case you needed it."

He takes her hand again and holds it tightly, worrying his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. "Right before the wedding, you said to me, 'Don't ever stop.' Remember? Well, I promise I won't, not where you're concerned. I don't need a way out, Kate. I've spent the last four years trying to tunnel my way in."

Kate grasps his shoulders and pulls him into a fierce hug before she pulls back suddenly, crushing her mouth against his, needing to kiss him so badly, church or no church.

When they're finally out of oxygen, and with their foreheads resting against one another, still breathing heavily, Kate says, "You're in, Castle." She takes his hand, fingers laced with her own, and presses it over her heart. "You're already in. Right here."

Castle's eyes are wide, pupils blown like brown M&Ms, but he gathers his wits to nod and eventually smile to make sure she knows that he understands the enormity of what she's saying. With her heart pounding under his palm he can think of nothing eloquent to offer in return, and he doesn't trust himself to speak without his voice breaking in any case, so he simply kisses her on the cheek and nods again.

One look is all it takes for Kate to realize how overwhelmed he is, and for the first time, she can truly see that this is it for him, just as it is for her. There will be no more fresh starts for Richard Castle after this one; they are each other's one and done from now on.

Kate holds out her hand and stands up, her face brightening as she pulls them both to their feet. "Come on. We've got some wedding ideas to steal."

They are alone in the church as they edge their way out of the narrow pew. Castle's large feet catch the padded kneeler every few penguin steps. Try as he might he kicks the final hinge as they reach the center aisle.

"I'm sure they built these things when people were smaller," he grumbles to the accompaniment of a woody boom that echoes throughout the empty chapel.

Kate laughs. "This place was built in the 50s, Castle. Just how much smaller do you think people were back then?"

"Hey, we're on Staten Island, Beckett. Land of the leprechaun," he jokes.

"Don't let any of Ryan's cousins hear you say that. Have you seen the size of Big Mo?"

"Oh, I see how it is. Not five minutes engaged and already she's giving out orders." He laughs and tries to dodge out of the way when Kate swats him on the arm.

He's still grinning when he turns away from the altar to follow Kate out of the church just as a shaft of light suddenly beams down from a circular window set high in the chapel wall. The sunlight catches one corner of the tabernacle, sparking fire off the ornate gold box like a struck flint. While wincing at the blinding flash of light, it's as if Castle is struck by an epiphany: Kate's wall has come down. All these months he's waited, sometimes fearing he was doing so in vain. Today, he finally has his answer: her wall has come crashing down and he is on the inside surveying the newly liberated terrain with her. The world is theirs for the taking; love, life, and adventures await.

Impulsively, he grabs her hand as they emerge into the vestibule of the church.

Kate turns to look at him. "You ready?" she asks with a big smile.

He squeezes her hand. "With you by my side? Beckett, I'm ready for anything."

They bump shoulders as they happily trot down the front steps together. There are tight-knit little huddles of invited guests and a few nosy passers-by still lingering in the shade outside. But as they turn to take the path that leads to the schoolyard next door where they've left their car, they instinctively drop hands and move apart.

"Finally!" Esposito yells, easing up off the Bentley's trunk where he was lounging, jacket off and tie already loosened. "You making confession in there or somethin', Castle? We guessed it must be you because it was taking so long." He laughs. Loudly.

Castle's eyes cut to Kate. She's still smiling, but he can tell that it's a little forced.

"I told you we should have called a damn cab," Lanie chides Esposito when she sees the look on her friends' faces. They were hoping for some alone time. Now Lanie feels sick about crashing their ride to the reception.

"Nonsense. We wouldn't dream of letting you take a cab when our Bentley awaits," Castle gallantly insists, sweeping his arm towards the car like Vanna White. "Right, Beckett?"

"I call shotgun!" Espo declares, racing for the passenger door before anyone else can claim it.

Kate shrugs at Castle who is already looking to her for guidance. "Lanie and I will ride in the back. You drive."

"Are you sure?" Castle asks quietly, using his body to shield her from prying eyes.

"I'm sure." She touches his tie. "We have…the rest of forever to ride around together. We can do this today. Drive. Have fun."

"Are you dropping the hood on this thing, or what?" Esposito asks impatiently.

Standing to one side, Lanie watches Castle and Beckett interact, a sly smile spreading over her face at what she sees.

"How are things with you and writer boy?" Lanie asks not five minutes later once they're on their way to the hotel where the reception is being held, Lady Gaga's The Edge of Glory blasting from the sound system shielding their conversation from the boys up front.

Kate glances over at Lanie, feeling slightly panicked inside.

There ain't no reason you and me should be alone
Tonight yeah baby, tonight yeah baby
But I got a reason that you-hoo should take me home tonight.

"Good," Kate says, trying not to listen to the words of the song, or think about tonight, as she sticks to their agreement to let Kevin and Jenny bask in the celebration of their big day before making any announcement of their own.

I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hangin' on a moment of truth.
Out on the edge of glory and I'm hangin' on a moment with you.

Lanie nods, and Kate feels the warm rush of relief that her friend appears satisfied with her answer and will, therefore, make no push to pry about what went on inside the church and why they lingered there for so long by themselves.

"So, you're not going to tell me," Lanie says primly as Lady Gaga sings on.

It's time to feel the rush to push the dangerous.
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you
Where we'll both fall far in love.

Kate catches Castle's eye in the rear-view mirror, trying to telegraph an apology when she replies, "We're good, Lanie. Really. Nothing to tell."

When they pull up in front of the hotel, Castle leaves the keys to the car with the valet and they all head inside. Kate holds back so that they can walk in together. But Castle is slow to climb the front steps, and Kate notices.

"Everything okay?" she asks when he reaches her side.

He looks over his shoulder one more time, and then he glances down at his phone. "Uh…"

"Castle?"

He turns to look at her, faking his 'everything's fine' face. "Everything's fine," he says, words that instantly tell her it isn't.

Eyes narrowed, Kate watches him a moment longer before she nods. "Okay. You happy to go inside? I want to see what table they've put us on. I have a sneaking suspicion they might have split us up."

When Castle hears something about matchmaking and separate tables, she finally gets his attention. "Say what now?"

She smiles sweetly. "Oh, I see how it is. Not five minutes engaged and already he's stopped listening to me," she says, teasing him with a recycling of his earlier joke.

Castle is right in front of her in a flash. "Did you just say something about Ryan splitting us up so that we can get it on with other people? People he and Jenny chose?"

"Well, I didn't use those exact words but⏤"

He takes her elbow and leads her inside. "I am moving place cards around if I have to. You be the lookout, and I'll do the dirty work. We are enjoying this meal together, Kate. I am not sitting on the other side of the table, or worse, several tables away, watching my fiancé being chatted up by some Neanderthal fireman from Yonkers."

Kate bursts out laughing.

"What?" Castle demands, all steamed up at the very thought.

She smooths the lapel of his jacket while, inside, her heart is racing. "Going all caveman on me, Castle?" she asks as coolly as she can muster.

She really is his fiancé and he is hers!

"Caveman, Batman." He shrugs. "I don't care. We are sitting together. Come on. Let's fix this injustice."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kate spies a familiar flash of red, just as Castle takes her arm and hurries her inside the cool shade of the lobby.

"Did I just⏤" She throws out her arm to point. "I think I just saw Alexis," she says, twisting back to look over her shoulder towards the sunlit front porch of the hotel.

TBC...

A/N: It's coming together slowly, I know, just like the title. It's this summer weather. What can you do? Guaranteed when I'm not writing it, I'm thinking about it. Hope the weather is nice where you are, too. And thank you for the lovely reviews, Liv