Author's Note: Okay... all I'm saying is that when you read the chapter, don't judge the whole story until you read the next update... I've done something similar to this with another story and I thought that people were literally going to kill me... just trust me, and enjoy the drama. Review if you would like!
Everybody's laughing, as the tears fall on the floor,
The Chaplain goes through the ceremony, allowing for a few moments of Castle and Beckett saying a few words to each other.
"Katherine Beckett, you are extraordinary, and I don't know what my life would be if I didn't have you. I know that we didn't get to this point easily, but I'm so glad that you didn't shoot me after the first case I shadowed you on." He says, taking her hands in his as everyone laughs at the comment, knowing that she probably could have shot him on numerous occasions. "We have been through so many things together and I know that we are just getting started with everything else, but I want you to know that I'm going to be there beside you every step of the way… always."
"You noticed that's our thing, right?" he says one night while they were going to bed.
"What?"
"It's a couply thing to have your little catch phrases with each other, and ours is always. I think that it became our way of saying I love you without actually saying it out loud when we weren't actually together."
"You think so?"
"When we were in the freezer… right before you passed out for good, you turned to me and said thank you for always being there and I told you always… I was screaming that I loved you inside of me though."
She looks at him for several moments, thinking about all the missed opportunities that the two of them had with each other.
"You and I have always been able to say so much without actually saying it. We've just been so creepily in sync since the beginning. It doesn't surprise me that we are here now."
"Really? You saw this coming?" he says, gesturing to the two of them lying next to each other.
"You know how everyone says that they knew? Like the person they would be with for the rest of their life, they knew it was them?"
"Okay?"
"That's you for me… I knew that you were something. I fought it tooth and nail until the end, but I knew that you would never leave me and that you would always be in my life. I was too chicken to say anything about it, or even admit it to myself, but it was there."
"Kate, I know that I've said this before, but I want you to know that this is so different for me. This is something that is so much more than anything that I've ever been a part of, and I know it. You are it for me."
"One and Done?" she asks, remembering a conversation that they had not long after they met.
"Mine may not be one, but it's definitely done. I love you."
"Always?"
"Always."
She's remembering this conversation as he is placing the ring on her finger, and she reflects on all the moments they've had that have led them to this one right here. For once in her life, like her father said, she was ready to dive in. She wanted every part of this life and every part of this future. She wanted the little Castle babies and the family dinners… she wanted everything that was in this room right now with all the love she could ever imagine. Admitting it to herself was the most freeing thing for her.
She looks into his eyes and she says,
"I want you forever, forever and always
Through the good and the bad and the ugly
We'll grow together, and always remember whether happy or sad or whatever
We'll still love each other forever and always…
Forever and always…
Forever and always…"
"Castle, it has taken us so long to get here, I agree, but I can't even imagine being anywhere but here, I want you and this life forever and always. We've been through everything together… terrible, wonderful, dangerous… now I want us to grow old and grey together and love each other just as fiercely then as we do now, no matter what else life deals us."
"I thought that I was the writer?" Castle asks as she slips the ring on his finger.
"Well, we've discussed how much I read your books throughout the years… it must have rubbed off on me." She says with a small smile.
Then the Chaplain says a few more words and Katherine Beckett becomes Katherine Castle… a decision that she made a few months previous.
"I want to be Katherine Castle… I want to change my name… is that okay?" she asks one evening when they were curled up on the couch after a long case. It was when she was the most contemplative because her mind was no longer occupied with the details of a murder and could be free to pursue other thoughts.
"Are you sure?" he says with a questioning glance to her and a little bit of wonder in his eyes.
"Well, I want to remain Detective Beckett at work, but I want to change my name. I'm traditional like that."
"But are you really sure about that? I mean, you don't have to do it, you know… don't think that I need you to…"
"Rick… I thought that was something that you would love! I was excited to tell you about this." She says, sitting up to face him.
"I am! I just… Meredith and Gina… they never even hinted at wanting my last name. Gina had joked about it, but since she was my publisher she decided that she wouldn't do it. Meredith was too into herself to even consider changing her name… even for Alexis. I didn't think that you would want it either."
When he says it, she can see all the hurt in his expression. They had done plenty of talking about his two failed marriages… and in her eyes, it was never him that ended things… it was always a them decision or a selfish woman that broke it off. She had plenty of thoughts about both women that she kept to herself, but she most hated what they did to him. Regardless of how many times he has told her that they are different, she thinks that he may still harbor some of the same insecurities from those times.
"I've told you numerous times that I am a one and done kind of girl. I'm in this for good and I want everyone else to know it too."
"And you're totally sure about that?"
"Castle, in the long run when we have children or Alexis is in need of something… I want to be able to show them without a doubt that I am indeed a Castle."
He warms at her words, the way she says them with such certainty, "Can I still call you Beckett in bed?"
"You can… or you can call me Mrs. Castle…."
"Mrs. Castle… God that sounds so good." He says, wrapping his arms around her.
Their small group of friends laugh and smile around them, with a ring of "finally!" and a few other sentiments that hint at how long they had been waiting for the inevitable wedding of the pair.
"Kate, I love you."
"I love you too, Rick…always."
"Now lets let these two love birds have a few minutes before they have to start the rest of their lives together." Martha says from the corner of the room, waving her hands to usher everyone out of the room.
It's a few minutes later that she notices something is off…
She finishes the vows but, the beeps are getting too slow,
"Castle?" she asks, noticing the machine's beeping, but searching his still smiling face.
At first glance, one would think that he was a happy newlywed, but she could see that the smile was starting to not reach his eyes, and the glitter that was usually there when their eyes met was starting to fade…
"Castle… what's wrong?"
He meets her eyes again, placing a hand over hers. She catches him glance to her stomach before again meeting her eyes.
His voice is almost too low as he says "I love you forever, forever and always, please just remember, even if I'm not there, I'll always love you forever and always."
She starts to panic immediately when he starts to talk in a voice that was far too low for his normal jovial ways.
"Kate, you know that I love you, and I love this baby that I've never even met… and I love Alexis and mother. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. So I need you to remember that I'll always love you and be a part of you."
As he's speaking, she is pressing the button for the nurse constantly.
"Castle, you aren't going anywhere. Don't do this to me… I can't do this again!"
That's the last thing she says before his eyes close and the nurse comes running into the room.
"Miss Beckett?"
"Something's wrong… I can't… I don't know what to do… he just started to get this look, and I don't… God… please…"