a.n. Really sorry for the long delay on this one. One more chapter to go after this (technically it'll be an epilogue).

I'm working my way back into Castle Fanfic. I've started a new multi-chapter, and so far I'm into it. Let's see how this goes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, nor have I ever claimed to do so.

xxxx

Previously…

"Can we see him," Kate asked, through happy tears.

"In an hour or so," the doctor replied. "We'll move him to a private room, then I'll send someone to come get you." With that the man returned back through the doors. The three women looked at each other, then came together in a group hug, all very happy that the man that resided at the center of their lives was going to be okay and would hopefully be with them for a long while.

Kate was exceedingly happy. This was her second chance, for real this time. The man she loved was alive. They could get married, have kids and grow old together. She vowed that she would live the rest of her life with as few regrets as possible. She wouldn't waste another minute of their always.

xxxx

The next morning…

"Did someone get the license plate number on the bus that ran me over?" Rick mumbled. "God that hurts."

Castle had woken up several times during the night, but this was the first time he sounded lucid. Kate hadn't left his side, and she wasn't going to until he could come home with her.

"Rick?"

"Kate?" The man finally opened his eyes. Kate could see the pain he was suffering, though she could tell he was trying to hide it.

"Yeah, babe, it's me. How are you feeling?"

He just groaned, which told her even more about his current condition. Kate pressed the call button to summon a nurse, and then grabbed hold of Rick's hand.

The nurse came in, talked to him for a minute and left to collect the doctor. Kate squeezed his hand, just happy that he was awake and alive. Her experience from her dream still fresh in her mind, Kate knew that she didn't want to waste any time. It seemed to her that she had lost him twice now, even if one of them was a dream. She couldn't even contemplate losing him again.

"Hey," he croaked. "It's okay, I'm here." He tried to bring his free arm up, but was hindered by the cast. "Don't cry."

"I was so scared, Rick. I didn't know how I could go on living without you. When Lanie said that the body was yours, it felt like my world ended. God, all I can think about is the sheet covered body…having to say goodbye to you…I just…" she trailed off, her body overwhelmed by sobs.

Rick tugged on her hand, "Come here." Kate stood and hugged him for all she was worth. She didn't…she couldn't lose him. Not again. Not ever.

xxxx

Six Months Later…

Rick Castle had healed properly, and everything had quickly settled down again. The case had stalled at first, but they had eventually solved the mystery of who had kidnapped him. It turned out that the man and woman who had taken Rick on his wedding day were a couple of delusional fans who wanted to act out their own scene. It reminded them both a little of the Scott Dunn case. They had apprehended the idiots, which made them all feel safer.

Kate had spent the past six months by Rick's side. She knew she was being clingy, but she couldn't help but feel that way. She somehow felt that if he wasn't by her side all the time, she might lose him again. The last six months felt like they were simply marking time. They were simply existing. Rick had, after getting his casts off, underwent physical therapy, and had also had a few sessions with a psychologist to help with the nightmares he had been suffering since his return. It had taken several months for him to get to the point where he felt safe again. It had broken her heart to see him in so much pain and confusion, but she had been there through it all, and she promised herself that she always would be.

It was on a bright Saturday morning in early November when she and Rick were lounging on the couch reading that things started to move forward again.

"Kate?"

"Hmmm?" She said without looking up from her book.

"Will you marry me?"

Well that was unexpected, she thought. She put the book down, and turned around so that she could look at him. "Rick?"

"Will you marry me?"

"You know I will. I already said yes."

He smiled. "How about this weekend?"

"What?!"

"This weekend. We spent almost a year preparing last time, and it got ruined. I don't want to wait any more. I'm back to normal, or at least as normal as I ever was," he added with a smirk, "and I want to get married. So?"

Kate thought about it for a minute before smiling broadly, "Yes, of course I'll marry you this weekend." With that she leaned closer and kissed him passionately.

xxxx

After going through the painful process of planning their first wedding, Kate was surprised at how easily their real wedding came together. They decided to just invite those closest to them, and not worry about the big hoopla that had been their first guest list (which had almost been 400 people).

They arranged for the actual ceremony to be held at the New York Public Library, which had small rooms which could be rented for certain occasions, and had luckily had an opening. They had called in a favor with one of Castle's judge friends, who would perform the ceremony. Kate's mom's dress had been ruined that day that Rick had went missing, so she and Lanie had to scramble to find a dress before the actual event, which proved easier than she thought when she found the perfect dress in the first store they entered. Throwing some cash at the vendor allowed them to get the dress finished before the wedding.

The actual event was perfect in Kate's opinion. The wedding was held in the same room that she had arrested Rick in for the first time. It always amused her that she had arrested her soon-to-be husband on more than one occasion. It always made her smile (at least now) how she had stormed into this room, so angry that the pompous jackass had had the nerve to steal her evidence file. If only she could go back in time to tell that Kate how much she would end up loving that pompous jackass.

For the rest of her life she would remember their vows.

His were what you'd expect from an amazing writer,

"From the first day I met you, I knew you were different. You enthralled me, enraptured me, and you made me think about a different way to live my life. You've managed to do the impossible by making me grow up and take part in the world. The honest truth is that I never saw you coming. I love you Kate Beckett, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving just how much you mean to me. Always."

She had started hers off similarly,

"When I first met you I hated your guts. It wasn't even you I hated, though. I hated that you were bringing chaos to my well-ordered life. I had everything I needed then, thank you very much. But the truth was, I wasn't living, just merely existing. You changed that. You made me want to experience life again for the first time since my mom died. The more I learned about you, the more I realized that I wanted to experience that life with you, for the rest of my days. I love you Richard Castle, and I always will."

They held a small reception back at their loft, and Kate loved the simplicity of the day. Her first wedding had been interrupted, and had led to one of the most terrifying events of her life. Rick's disappearance and apparent death had made her think about all the time she had wasted, and how many regrets she had by not getting together with him earlier. Her dream had shown her the truth of the matter. No matter how hard their journey might have been, she wouldn't change it for anything. Her life wasn't perfect, their life wasn't perfect, but it was theirs, and it was for always. She'd make sure to never need another second chance.

xxxx

a.n.2. I know, short, corny and rushed. I have a big author's note planned for the epilogue on what I've learned about story telling while writing this. One question I have that I'll ask now: If I were to write an alternate ending (where the second chance/alternate universe wasn't a dream), would that be something you'd be interested in? Leave me a review and let me know. I'm not guaranteeing it, but that could happen. As good an idea as I thought it was when I started this story, it didn't turn out all that well.