Author's Note: Positive reaction to this one, especially since I've never written Castle fic before... I hope you got a chance to check out the video and/or listen to the song, cause it's a beautiful ballad... Anyways... on with the fic, and if you like what you read, send me a review or message if you would like!
Disclaimer again: I would have a WAY cooler car if I owned them.
Her mind goes to December.
She thinks of when he asked her.
He bent down on his knee first.
When she gets out of the bathroom, she calls down to Bobby again, asking him to get her a car as soon as possible. She knows that she can't drive herself to the hospital with the dizzying thoughts in her mind. He tells her that she should make her way downstairs and he'll figure everything out for her.
When she grabs her coat and purse, her eye catches on the sparkling diamond she wore on her left hand. She had been self conscious about wearing the ring after a few days of having it, so she put it on a necklace next to her mother's ring. It wasn't until her dad mentioned something about it that she realized she wanted it on display for everyone to see. She wanted the girlish indulgence of people realizing that she was engaged. Engaged to Richard Castle.
"So, you're happy about this?" he asks, rubbing circles on her shoulder as she is draped over his chest after they celebrated their engagement.
"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about any of this…"
He starts to say something, but she puts a few fingers to his lips to stop his protest. "Not like that… I mean… God… how do I say this without sounding stupid…" she pauses for a moment, "Castle, I love you… I have never felt like this before, and I know that it is right and it is true. At the same time, I'm so scared about going to D.C. and everything that comes with this."
He glances to the ring on her finger and smiles for a moment.
Her thoughts are interrupted as the elevator dings for the lobby and Bobby is escorting her to the waiting car.
"Thank you."
"I hope everything's okay Miss Beckett." He says, shutting the door behind her.
She hopes so too.
On her way, he mind is swirling in a million different directions, but her eyes come to rest on her left hand again… its placement not going unnoticed by her.
And he said "I want you forever, forever and always,
Through the good and the bad and the ugly,
We'll grow old together forever and always."
He smiles at her for a while before he can find the words that he wants to say to her. "Kate, I want every single part of this… always. You are my absolute forever, and I don't know how to convince you that this Is going to work. We have been through the best of times, the worst of times… God Kate, we've almost died more times than I can count on both my hands, but we're here. Everything that the two of us have experienced in this lifetime has led us right here… to this moment. You and I have a long future together, growing old together, and loving each other as long as time will allow."
She was always amazed by his love for her, and numerous times throughout their relationship she has questioned how he could love her in that way. Then he says these things to her and it all makes sense.
"Richard Castle, you have a way with words… did you know that?" she says, kissing him before settling back down in her spot.
"With my muse by my side at all hours now, I can't help it." He says, which earns him a smack from his bride to be. "What was that for?"
"I distinctly remember telling you long ago that you needed to stop calling me your muse."
"And… as per our long standing traditions… I have chosen to ignore you."
She pulls up to the entrance.
She walks right to the front desk.
She smiles to herself at the thoughts, and looks out the window to see the approaching lights of the hospital. Her stomach protests again as she shifts in her seat.
When the driver gets out to let her out, she stands on shaky limbs, looking to him for a question.
"Don't worry about it Miss Beckett. The arrangement we have with Mr. Castle applies to you as well. No need to pay or tip."
"Thank you." She says, giving him a nod and turning towards the entrance.
She thinks for a moment about the way she steels herself before going into an interrogation, and does the same here. She won't be shaken by this… especially because she doesn't know exactly what this is.
Making her way through the emergency doors, she walks over to a desk that is occupied by a short African-American woman.
"Can I help you?" the woman says, not looking up from her computer.
"Yes, I just received a call from the hospital because my fiancé was brought in. They didn't give me any details."
The woman still doesn't acknowledge Kate with a glance when she replies, "We can't give details on the phone."
"I understand that, now can you point me in the direction of my fiancé?"
"Hold on for a moment." She says in a monotone that finally grates Kate's nerves to the point of no return.
She slams her fists down on the counter, "Listen! I don't know what it is that has you so engrossed on that computer, but the last time I checked, receptionists were supposed to receive customers and guests. You gave me snipped answers and didn't even bother to look up at me when you spoke. If you had, which you've finally done now, you would have seen the very scared face of a woman who got a call twenty minutes ago telling her to come to the hospital because something happened to her fiancé. Maybe that would have made you realize that you yourself have loved ones who could be in the same situation at some point and you would need someone to be compassionate and help you find your loved one. So please… can you tell me where I can find my fiancé?"
The woman opens and closes her mouth for a moment before flushing a bit with embarrassment at the situation. "I… I'm sorry ma'am… what is his name?"
"Richard Castle."
"Let me look… oh… um…." The woman looks around and spots someone else, calling them over to cover her spot. "Let me take you where you need to go."