Heads up, this story will only be about 2 or 3 chapters long. I'm hoping to do more spin-offs of my original like I did for this, so reviews would really help let me know how I'm doing! :) Enjoy!
She stands in front of the mirror, looking up and down at herself, fully coming to the realization of what is happening. What, in only minutes, wouldtake place. She smiles, but the nerves refuse to stop coming. Was this the right decision? Is she sure she's ready? Is now the right time? But slowly she reminds herself what is happening, why she's here, who she's here with, and the nerves begin to settle.
There's a knock on the door. She wakes out of her calm and turns toward it. "Come in," she says.
The mother, daughter, and friend enter together, one-by-one gasping at the sight of her. "Oh my," says the mother. "Darling, you look…"
"Beautiful," the daughter chimes in. "Absolutely beautiful."
"Kate, sweetie, it's perfect," her friend reassures.
She smiles at their compliments, but returns to looking in the mirror. She smooths out the dress she dons, and decides to really look at it once more. It wasn't complex, but it wasn't too simple. The dress is strapless, with the hem ending right above her toes in the front, but slightly trailing her in the back. The bust fits well, and the dress flows out from where it ends. A lovely thin satin material, with a lace design of flowers on the bust. Her shoes go well with the dress, equipped with heels, but short enough to stay a shorter height than him. And the dress, of course, is white.
"I'm…I'm still wondering about the hair, though," she points out so as not to leave silence.
"Oh, it's gorgeous," the mother adds. "Couldn't be better. Leave it as is."
She smiles again, reassured once more of her looks that she wants so bad to be perfect. Her hair lies down, swept over her right shoulder, the curls ending at her chest. She decides it is good she didn't straighten it, and realizes putting it up would only take away from the elaborate ensemble.
She takes a deep breath and lets it out, the sound encompassing the room. "Okay, alright. Am I missing anything? Yes? No?"
The women assure her nothing is missing. Her diamond-shaped silver earrings dangling from her lobes, and her locket necklace, one which he got her last year for her birthday, hangs around her neck. She takes hold of it, thinking of the picture of her mother inside, relieved that is some way, she is here, watching everything that is taking place, hoping she is making her proud.
"Okay," she says. "Okay. I'm ready. Is everything else set?"
"Yes, everything else is ready," the daughter says. "Although, I should make sure that florist didn't put that vase in the middle of the walkway like he did earlier…"
The daughter begins towards the door, and the mother starts to follow. "Oh I'll give him a piece of my mind if he did such a thing again."
They exit, closing the door behind them, leaving her friend and her alone.
Her friend smiles, joy filling her eyes. She lets out a large sigh. "So," she begins. "Richard Castle, huh? A best-selling crime novelist, notorious New York City Playboy; he's got a lot on his rap sheet."
She laughs at her friend's insight. "Yeah, he sure does." She smiles, thinking back to the day they first met, where she questioned him in interrogation, going over his actual rap sheet. But her smile remains because she sees how so much has changed since their first moment together. How he doesn't run around doing immature things that often; how he's not a womanizer like he used to be. How he grew up because of her. For her. "I think I can handle it."
"Oh, I know you can girl," her friend answers. "You've been doing that for years now. And look where it's got you." She gestures around the room, pointing at her, raising an eyebrow. "I think you handled it pretty well."
They both laugh once more, a close moment between friends before the biggest moment of them all. They calm down, and the nerves wash over her once again. "Lanie, are you sure everything's fine? I look okay?"
Her friend walks up to her, grabbing her arms, turning her towards the mirror. "Kate Beckett, today is your wedding day. You're in a gorgeous dress, with a big smile on your face. There is a guy who's crazy about you just down the hall. Sweetie, you could not look any better."
She turns around and hugs her friend tightly, forever grateful for the comforting words she seems to provide so well. "Thank you, Lanie. For everything."
"It's what I do," her friend replies as she pulls back. "Now, not to rush on time or anything, but we're almost out of it. I have to go into the hallway. When you're ready, knock on the door."
She nods, and her friend begins to leave. "Oh, and Kate?" she says as she opens the door. "Congratulations. You deserve to be happy."
Her smile widens as her friend shuts the door. And once again she's alone. So she reverts back to the only thing she has done in this room for the past hour: she looks back to the mirror.
She goes over every detail once again, even though she knows any flaws won't be fixed before it's time. Her heart starts to race, and as her hand goes up to her chest, she once again grasps the locket tightly, refusing to let it go as if it alone is providing the oxygen she is breathing. She closes her eyes and begins to breathe deeply, regaining her calm as much as she can. She repeats his name in her head over and over, reminding herself why she's here in the first place. When she opens her eyes and looks in the mirror once more, her anxiety has disappeared, and she couldn't care less about the flaws in her looks. All she cared about was him, how she wanted to be with him, at this very moment.
She took a deep breath once again, and walked over to the door, giving it a small knock. It opened, her father on the other side. He let out a slight gasp, but a smile quickly crawled across his face. "You look beautiful, Katie. Just like your mother."
She smiled, looking at the ground. "Thanks, Dad." With one last breathe, she looks up and asks, "So, shall we?"
"Of course," he responds, putting out his arm, and she wraps hers around it. They start off towards the main event, a smile remaining on her face.
